Monthly Archives: October 2016

Nine Georgetown Law student organizations — spearheaded by the Georgetown Law Students for Democratic Reform and the American Constitution Society — are petitioning Georgetown Law administration to reschedule or cancel class on Election Day.

The initiative began with the publication of an open letter on Facebook, addressed to Dean William Treanor, Dean of Students Mitchell Bailin and Sally McCarthy, Assistant Dean of JD Academic Services.

“Georgetown Law has a strong commitment to public service and civic engagement. As one of the leading law schools in the country, Georgetown has an obligation to demonstrate the importance of equitable participation in our Nation’s democracy,” the letter reads. “By prioritizing the voting of its students, faculty and staff over classes and work on Election Day, Georgetown would exemplify these commitments.”

Dean Bailin, in an email to Atkins, said the law school will remain open and classes will meet on Election Day.

Georgetown Law’s family of 13 annual legal journals will welcome a cousin to campus this fall — the Georgetown Technology Review.

Though unaffiliated with the Office of Journal Administration, the online-only publication will draw inspiration from traditional journal formats: including student scholarship in the notes of articles, case comments and notes, with the addition of legal news and tech explainers.

“Traditional law reviews serve a very important purpose — they are incredibly useful and I think their continued longevity is evidence of that,” said Stephan Dalal, in charge of the technology side of GTR. “But something that is missing is pieces that can be read quickly and are easy to understand, but provide a high density of information.”

GTR is the brainchild of six students — Sara Ainsworth, Andrew Schreiber, Lindsey Barrett, Dalal, Edward George and Spencer Williams. It will be housed under the Institute for Technology Law and Policy, opening this fall.

The headline event at the Student Bar Association’s meeting on October 4th was a visit by Michelle Wu, Associate Dean for Library Services. She spent over an hour Tuesday evening discussing the recently announced changes to the Wolff Library space.

Expanding on the email sent to students last month, Wu explained that the Law Center has been battling space problems for at least a decade. There has been an ongoing, campus-wide effort to more efficiently use already existing campus spaces.

Wu’s reports were relatively light on details. Indeed, the relocation of the Wolff books to the E.B. Williams library is in its planning stages, and the consultation from Shelpy Bulfinch is needed before any substantive decisions can be made. Therefore, information as to what the new space will be used for specifically, when the transition will occur, and how much this will cost is still up in the air.

Wu was able to provide some concrete details. The collection of international law in Wolff Library will be relocated to the Williams Library, as will the associated staff. She reassured students that at least some of the two-floor Wolff area will remain 24-hour student space. In fact, Wu reassured students that the amount of available space in Wolff may not decrease. A survey, conducted by Shepley, will help the school and the firm assess what needs exist, and how best to address them. Building off that survey, which should be conducted this semester, the Law Center and Sheply will design a plan to repurpose the Wolff space. Wu also revealed that the school recently confirmed that, using compact shelving, the Wolff collection can fit inside the Williams building. Continue reading →